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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25975228">To Be Remembered</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Curlsandcollege/pseuds/Curlsandcollege'>Curlsandcollege</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Comfort/Angst, F/M, Family History, Overthinking, Portraits, Post-Canon, Work Life Balance, annette trying to understand agarthan technology, sexism/patriarchy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:41:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,775</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25975228</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Curlsandcollege/pseuds/Curlsandcollege</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Annette would not be a footnote in Felix's story</p><p>Alternatively: Annette wants to push magic forward into a new age, leave a legacy that's all her own, and still help her territory thrive.  Felix just wants his wife to get some sleep.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>That Old Faerghus Repression</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>To Be Remembered</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Anyone else annoyed that women are secondary characters in their paired endings with men? Me too.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annette couldn’t quite place her finger on when the portraits lining the halls of Fraldarius manor had gone from creepy to almost comforting. The main wing of the building had an incredible skylight and a picture window that overlooked the sea and no matter how late it got on a moonlit night it still was always bright enough that one candle would do the trick. </p><p> </p><p>She had agreed to stop doing paperwork in bed months ago. It started when a maid had demurely delivered a lap desk to Annette to help her <em> keep ink off the sheets. </em> Annette was so embarrassed that she had been creating extra work that she moved her late night research to the tiny ornate writing desk in her bedroom that she was supposed to use for official correspondence. This was less than ideal, situated in a dark corner and so small and delicate it could barely hold one magic tome.<br/>
<br/>
There was also the issue of Felix. He could easily ignore her reading in bed, turning over and going to sleep with a simple, “Don’t stay up too late.” Relocating to the desk annoyed her husband who could no longer pretend that Annette was just minutes away from sleeping. </p><p> </p><p>Stubborn, competitive Felix refused to rest while he could see she was working, and he became determined to stay up just as late as she did. Which, simply, he couldn’t. Annette had been pulling all nighters in pursuit of perfection since she was attending the School of Sorcery. Felix always valued rest as a means to help his swordsmanship. He’d pitter about doing random sword drills and maintenance until his overtired energy annoyed Annette enough that she finally agreed to sleep. It wasn’t great for their marriage.<br/>
<br/>
It wasn’t great for their ability to run Fraldarius either. Annette became a little silly, a bit more clumsy, and slightly more short tempered while sleep deprived. Felix simply ceased to function. After one particularly embarrassing incident where he fell asleep in front of one of his advisors, Felix decided Annette’s all nighters were a thing of the past. Effective immediately.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>In an effort to deter her he’d snuff out her candles, hide her notebooks, or move her chair into increasingly odd places. On occasion he’d give up trying to delay her and actually scoop her up, throw her in bed, and wrap his arms around her until she stopped screaming he was evil and agreed to sleep. The last method was the most effective, and probably the most fun for both of them. It was also the most irritating.<br/>
<br/>
Therefore, she had taken to sneaking out of their bedroom after she was sure Felix was out cold.<br/>
<br/>
Nearly every inch of the hallway was haphazardly lined with paintings- Felix couldn’t stand having generations of his family decorating his rooms and had moved all of them out in one fell swoop. Paintings were hung wherever there was wall space, generations of dark haired Fraldarius ancestors mixed in no particular order. Staring down at Annette as she tried to create an extra hour in the day. Just one more equation before she let herself rest- too excited to stop, feeling the solution right beyond her grasp but edging ever closer. </p><p><br/>
This bench was one of her favorite spots in Fraldarius. It was always light soaked, comfortable with fine blue upholstery, long enough to hold several reference books in addition to her notebook, and importantly a solid sturdy arm where she could easily balance her candle. </p><p> </p><p>The problem was the actual purpose for the bench. Which was to better appreciate the painting across from it. </p><p> </p><p>The hundreds of eyes watching her were once upsetting. The first few times she snuck into this hallway in the middle of the night she had lasted only a few minutes before she was dashing back to bed. Annette tried not to be overly superstitious but Eastern Faerghus legends were full of frightening ghosts with unfinished business, begging to be remembered. </p><p> </p><p>Fraldarius history was filled with the same- they were an old house, the protectors of the crown. Far, far too many of the people surrounding her had died on the battlefield or fending off assasination attempts on the crown. Their legacy, much as Felix denied and resented it, was rooted in their willingness to die for a cause.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>So it wasn’t totally unreasonable of her to think that maybe the paintings were just a little haunted. </p><p><br/>
She had lived here for almost a year. She had found this bench and claimed it as hers, her spot in this hallway of history. She was a Fraldarius now- she could belong here if she tried hard enough. They were her family too. Not everyone on the walls shared the same sharp features and dark hair. Spouses often had the light hair more typical of Faerghus nobility- they could have impact. They could leave a legacy in blood and name. Felix’s grandmother was every bit a Blaiddyd with blonde hair and the blue eyes that had been present in both his father and if his portrait was accurate, Glenn.<br/>
<br/>
She made sure she learned the names and stories of the clear outsiders, she felt kinship with them. They had been in her shoes once- but they would forever be immortalized as members of the house. She would be too. </p><p> </p><p>Annette had made peace with the ever present reminders that her future children would likely not resemble her very much. That she would physically be stamped out from history, another outlier in this hallway one day.<br/>
<br/>
Hanneman had explained this to Annette while attempting and failing not to sound giddy about the information. She would be significant in crestology not for the value of her blood but for its weakness. Major crests were so rare they had not been subject of extensive study but if records were accurate they <em> nearly </em> always overpowered a minor crest. She had torn into research on her own and confirmed with Linhardt. <em> Nearly </em> was added for politenesses sake… Always was closer to the truth.<br/>
<br/>
Major crests tended to have physical markers- allegedly making their bearers more closely resemble the elites who bequeathed them.<br/>
<br/>
Her bench sat facing the largest and most impressive painting of them all. The original Fraldarius- the elite. Sitting atop her falicorn, face obscured by her helmet but her dark hair and amber eyes painfully familiar. It was an artistic interpretation painted hundreds of years after her death. Next to nothing was actually known about her and portraiture was not in nearly the same place back at the time of the Elites. Yet it was easy to imagine what she looked like. Terrifying. Deadly. Intimidating.<br/>
<br/>
Everyone else in the hallway had a family, a connection, a story. She could look up their history, trace their lineage. There was a ginormous portrait of Kyphon at the entrance to the house that even Felix didn’t have the heart to move. Kyphon, as with all his ancestors, had dark hair, sharp features, amber eyes. Kyphon was only half as scary as this mystery woman whose strength was so legendary it spawned a legacy of over a thousand years. </p><p><br/>
Kyphon’s wife? Nowhere to be found. She must have existed, but there were no portraits of her. </p><p> </p><p>Even Felix’s own mother was only featured once, sandy haired and green eyed. One generation later, wiped out completely. One son dead, the other completely unable to remember her. A footnote in history books.<br/>
<br/>
Annette had never chafed too much at the social structure of Faerghus and its over emphasis on men. Few women became knights. Few women led their houses, an exception made only when crested men were missing from a line. Frankly, Annette hadn’t thought about it too much growing up- she benefited from the exception so it didn’t matter <em> why </em> it had to be made in the first place. Of all of her complaints about her home country, the emphasis on <em> honor </em> ranked far higher than the emphasis on <em> men. </em><br/>
<br/>
She had no qualms about giving up her claim to her own house- her relationship with her father and family was complicated at best, and she had a few young cousins who might be able to take up the charge one day. Annette wasn’t even terribly attached to her own crest, aside from the handful of times she used Crusher it wasn’t truly compatible with her skillset. </p><p><br/>
Annette shined with magic. Not a prodigy, but a hard worker and a quick thinker. The best work ethic any of her professors had ever seen. Top of her class at the School of Sorcery. Top marks at Garreg Mach. First in the army to pass a Gremory certification.<br/>
<br/>
In the moments she let herself imagine a future after the war she had plans to return to Fhirdiad and continue her magical research at the School of Sorcery until it came time to inherit. Leave a legacy of teaching new mages, furthering research, creating new magics. Sorcery cared little about lineage or gender- it cared about ability above all else. </p><p> </p><p>So where along the way was all of that abandoned? </p><p><br/>
She and Felix had married so quickly after the war that she had never taken even one second to consider her role or her future. It was only after she married that she read the paragraphs upon paragraphs of text about different Dukes and their focuses and impacts. She didn’t know about the one throwaway line about each of their wives, noting if they came from an important house (usually), if they had a crest (rarely), and one footnote about their personality.<br/>
<br/>
<em> Eloise Fraldarius (1136-1164), wife of Rodrigue Fraldarius. Mother of Glenn and Felix Fraldarius. From a minor western family that was a wealthy but otherwise unimportant offshoot distantly related to house Gautier. No crest. Known for her sarcastic sense of humor and no nonsense attitude that helped keep the house running while her husband was fighting in Sreng. Died in the plague of 1164. </em><br/>
<br/>
Annette was sure Eloise had done more than that in her life. That she had goals and hobbies and a more nuanced and deep life lived outside of who she married and how she helped her husband run his home. But the books knew nothing of that. Her own child knew nothing of that.<br/>
<br/>
Had Annette remained Annette Dominic, she could have forged a path of her own. But by becoming Annette Fraldarius, her fate had changed. </p><p><br/>
And so, her late night project.<br/>
<br/>
Cornelia’s Titanus made absolutely no sense. Their shells had been collected off of the streets of Fhirdiad as part of the rebuilding, and two specimens that were mostly intact were now the subject of intense study. They simply were not magically feasible within the scope of everything known.<br/>
<br/>
They were a terrible weapon. The Giant Katar they wielded were awe inspiring and logically impossible, clearly powered by some degree of magic but completely incomprehensible.<br/>
<br/>
Annette had never been able to leave a magical mystery unsolved. She didn’t want to rebuild the Titanus so much as she wanted to understand them. Study them. Push magic forward with whatever lessons they might learn from within the deteriorating shells.<br/>
<br/>
Frankly, she loved the challenge. It kept her up at night out of necessity, but also because of how exciting it was. This was new. This was <em> important. </em> This could be her legacy.<br/>
<br/>
Annette would not settle for being a footnote in Felix’s life.<br/>
<br/>
Annette stared once more at Fraldarius, and then got back to work. </p>
<hr/><p>She was snapped out of her studying by the sound of her books being slammed shut.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey!” Annette cried, grabbing for her husband’s arm.<br/>
<br/>
“I knew you would be here” Felix began to gather up her materials, making neat stacks of parchment and books. </p><p>“I’m not done with that yet!” Annette protested, attempting to grab some papers out of his hands.<br/>
<br/>
“You are for now. We talked about this. It’s late.” Felix moved quickly, dodging Annette’s futile efforts to stop him and avoiding her eyes.<br/>
<br/>
“But I was on a good path. Things were really flowing- I... I was finally making progress!” She tried to explain, frustrated and unable to form words. She wrapped her arms around the book in her hands, determined to protect this one tome. </p><p>“You’ll make progress tomorrow. Please, come to bed”<br/>
<br/>
“You’re evil Felix!” She huffed, trying not to raise her voice too loud, mindful of the late hour but still incredibly angry. </p><p>He ignored her, carrying the stack of books and parchment back in the direction of their bedroom silently.<br/>
<br/>
Annette followed after him “I hate you! Stop taking my things!”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
He opened up the door and stoically deposited everything onto her writing desk. Annette went to snatch a second book off the top of the pile but Felix was too quick and grabbed her wrist.<br/>
<br/>
Finally, finally he looked at her “Annette you need to sleep” </p><p>“No<em> you </em> need to sleep Felix. I was just fine as I was.”<br/>
<br/>
He groaned in frustration. “Please come to bed. The Titanus will wait until tomorrow.”</p><p><br/>
“You’re not my father Felix. If I want to stay up and work on this, I will and you cannot stop me.” </p><p>Felix reacted as if she had struck him, and dropped her arm.<br/>
<br/>
“No, I’m not your father. I’m actually paying attention.” He said coldly.<br/>
<br/>
Annette jolted back, “That’s not fair. That’s horrible Felix!” </p><p> </p><p> “Annette you’re working yourself to the bone and sleeping four hours at most. You’re of no use to anyone as tired as you are,” Felix tried to reason, tried to play to her sense of achievement and pride in good work. </p><p><br/>
“You mean I’m of no use to you!” Annette cried out.</p><p>Felix stared at her, confused.<br/>
<br/>
Annette couldn’t look him in the eyes. She fumed, throwing her book back down and storming into the washroom. She had technically already gotten ready for bed, hours ago, but rebrushed her hair and splashed cold water on her face. She needed to calm down. Felix didn’t have any idea how important her project was to her. Legacy meant nothing to him.<br/>
<br/>
He tried to include her, without ever being asked. He was happy to tell advisors Annette was the brains of the family. He frequently delegated things to her and was quick to give her credit for her ideas when presented to the council. He hadn’t done anything wrong…<br/>
<br/>
He just wouldn’t understand. </p><p> </p><p>When she reentered the bedroom Felix was still standing over by the desk.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh you don’t trust me?” Annette asked snidely. <br/>
<br/>
“Please don’t do this.” Felix said softly as he crossed the room.<br/>
<br/>
She let him wrap his arms around her. This wasn’t like when he playfully scooped her up. There was no urgency. He simply stood and held her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. Comforting.<br/>
<br/>
Annette realized she was crying. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know what’s happening. I need you to tell me what I can do to help.” Felix coaxed, holding her, letting her cry. </p><p> </p><p>Annette sobbed, gasping for a hiccupping breath. She couldn’t stop crying even to tell Felix it wasn’t about him, that she wasn’t angry with him, that he hadn’t made her cry. That she was sad her children wouldn’t look like her. That she would be reduced down to being smart or being energetic while he got to be a major crest holder, and right hand of the king, and whatever else he did in the next forty years of his life. That she didn’t want “The Paperwork Song” to be the only thing she created after the war. That she was learning to love Fraldarius and its people and its history, but she wanted just a little time for herself and her own passions.<br/>
<br/>
Finally she was able to calm herself, collect her thoughts for a moment so they weren’t rushing past, faster than her mouth could form words.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m tired Felix.” She tried, sniffling.<br/>
<br/>
He reacted, seeing something he could physically fix. Felix lifted her up as if she weighed nothing at all. Annette wrapped her legs around him and let herself be carried to bed.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Still silent, he brushed tears off her face. She must have been a mess, she realized. She wasn’t a pretty crier like some people, she turned far too red.<br/>
<br/>
“I… I still don’t know what I did.” Felix started</p><p>“It’s not you. We’re both exhausted. We should talk about it in the morning.” Annette answered feeling suddenly bone weary. She didn’t want to talk about it, it felt embarrassing to acknowledge. How selfish of her, to decide that she had to be important on her own.  </p><p> </p><p>Felix stared at her, looking every bit as exhausted as she felt.<br/>
<br/>
“I love you” he said, reaching for her. </p><p>She leaned into him, giving him a quick kiss before rolling over to her side of the bed. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
The sun streaming in woke Annette up, feeling better rested than she had in weeks. </p><p><br/>
Oh no. The sun. </p><p><br/>
Annette rolled over so quickly the sheets got caught under her. Empty. Felix had likely been up for hours already if it was this late.<br/>
<br/>
She dressed quickly, not entirely sure that the shawl matched her dress and her hair unfashionably loose around her shoulders. Oh no she had really messed up. Felix didn’t always do the best job of reading her, he probably thought she was mad at him. He was probably avoiding her. He didn’t like unfinished business- he didn’t have Annette’s tendency to let words fester until they burst out. He was probably already meeting with advisors, meetings she was supposed to attend herself, there was so much to do and she had slept in! </p><p> </p><p>Annette dashed into the hallway and found Felix sitting on her bench with a tray of food, the stack of magic books on the floor beside him. He had a stack of his own documents spread on the seat in haphazard piles.<br/>
<br/>
“Good morning,” He greeted casually, looking up from his paperwork. He looked exhausted with deep bags under his eyes.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s morning?” Annette confirmed, trying to read him. What was going on?<br/>
<br/>
“Yes. I let you sleep through the meeting with the agriculture advisors. I thought you needed it. I presented your notes and they were happy enough with your ideas.” Felix looked back at the document he was reading, signed it, and placed it back on the pile.<br/>
<br/>
“Why… Felix why are you on my bench?” Annette asked, not quite processing what was happening. Why was Felix so calm? They had fought the night before. She had been so mean to him, he had been so mean to her.<br/>
<br/>
He shrugged.<br/>
<br/>
“At least make room for me” Annette requested, lifting up the pile that appeared to be finished work.<br/>
<br/>
“The food is for you.” He gestured. Had Annette looked at it she would have been able to guess, nothing on the tray would appeal to Felix in the slightest. Okay… a peace offering probably. An apology maybe.<br/>
<br/>
She took a few bites of a pastry that had probably been warm when Felix made the tray.<br/>
<br/>
“I brought your books, if you want to work on the Titanus project today you should.” He looked so hopeful as he said it. Definitely a peace offering. </p><p> </p><p>Feeling guilty and unable to look at her husband, Annette stared at Fraldarius, now lit up by the skylight. </p><p> </p><p>“This is Ingrid’s favorite spot too, you know.” Felix started, casually. </p><p> </p><p>Annette turned and stared at him. Soft conversation wasn’t his thing, even with her, there was always a point to anything he said.<br/>
<br/>
“She was shocked when she learned the Elite Fraldarius was a woman. I think she liked having a role model” Felix explains.</p><p> </p><p>“A role model who is a thousand years dead?” Annette questioned dryly.<br/>
<br/>
“Not a lot of Women knights. Especially ones who are significant. I think she liked the idea of it. Thought Glenn wouldn’t stop her if it’s what she wanted to do.”<br/>
<br/>
Annette paused and studied the painting again. Trying to feel the awe of a child- a woman to be impressed by, an incredible, legendary woman. Someone who achieved enough that a thousand years later having a drop of her blood was enough to change your life.<br/>
<br/>
“You think?” She asked quietly.<br/>
<br/>
“Think what?” Felix asked</p><p> </p><p>“Glenn would have been okay with Ingrid being a knight?”<br/>
<br/>
“Hell if I know. We were 13 when he died… It was never more than an idea.” </p><p> </p><p>“But do you think he would have?” Annette asked with an urgency that even she realized was not appropriate. </p><p> </p><p>Felix considered for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t know. What does it matter what Glenn would have done? Ingrid became a knight. The end.” Felix studied her face. They <em> never </em> talked about Glenn, Annette was able to piece together tiny bits of information about his life over the years but he didn’t come up. Felix never brought him up. </p><p> </p><p>“I want to think he would have. He should have, it’s all Ingrid has ever wanted. If he loved her even a little bit he would have let her become a Knight.” Annette said, determined.<br/>
<br/>
Felix shrugged and began toying with his paperwork, unable to find an answer to that. </p><p> </p><p>Annette grabbed her magic book and began flipping to the page she was on last night. They worked companionably in silence, shrugging off requests from a handful of servants to assist taking the books into Felix’s office. She insisted they were comfortable. Wanted a change of scenery. Annette hummed quietly as she read. Even she could admit on a full night of rest she read quicker, her mind worked more efficiently. She was catching things she had missed last night. Magic made her giddy when she had the energy to feel. </p><p> </p><p>Finally, hours later, Felix placed his hand over hers, stopping her writing, “Annie… is there something I’m not letting you do?”<br/>
<br/>
“Well you’re not letting me finish my spell equation right now,” Annette said lightly. </p><p><br/>
He sighed and took his hand back. </p><p> </p><p>“Give me a second.” She placed a ribbon on her page and placed the book onto her lap. Felix sat patiently, waiting for her to start.<br/>
<br/>
She needed to tell him. Felix did his best, but he was bad at reading between the lines. Hell, part of why she was so busy all the time was that Felix simply refused to play politics and Annette needed to step in when politics and posturing became necessary. He always took critique to heart if she could just find the right words. But what on earth was she supposed to tell him?<br/>
<br/>
“We’re so busy with responsibilities here. I want to help. I know that we need to manage the territory and that’s our job. I just hate that I only have time to work on the Titanus project at night. One day’s worth of work is fine, but I’m never going to make true progress if you stop me after an hour.”<br/>
<br/>
Felix frowned, “I don’t stop you after an hour. You work on it between dinner and bed” </p><p> </p><p>Annette raised an eyebrow. “Unless we have guests. Unless there’s an emergency message that needs to be attended to immediately. Unless we go to bed <em> early. </em> ”<br/>
<br/>
Felix laughed softly, “You’re going to complain about the last one?” </p><p> </p><p>Annette blushed but continued “But you stop me because you need to sleep. So you can wake up early and train. So you can keep protecting us or take out some bandits when you get antsy or run up to Sreng!” </p><p><br/>
Felix’s face dropped, “I’ve never been to Sreng. As far as Sylvain says they’re negotiating and cooperating, why would I need to go to Sreng?” </p><p> </p><p>Annette puffed her cheeks out and hissed out a breath.<br/>
<br/>
“The point is you can! And you’re supposed to! But I get my best work done at night but it’s a problem because it’s effecting <em> you</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
Felix narrowed his eyes, clearly trying to hold his temper.<br/>
<br/>
“So you want me to let you never sleep and work yourself to death?”<br/>
<br/>
Annette laughed, frustrated.<br/>
<br/>
“No! No Felix! That’s not it at all. I just… This project is important to me. It’s the most important work I’ll ever do and you don’t need to have projects or anything to be important and… I want to be important Felix.” She finished in a small voice. They shouldn’t be talking about this here, where anyone could hear them.<br/>
<br/>
“You are important.” He objected. </p><p> </p><p>“No. I’m not. And I thought I would be okay with that but I can’t just…” Annette gestured wildly, “They all probably thought they were important too.”<br/>
<br/>
“They probably were. But to be truly important you have to live a pretty terrible life. What is wrong with being unimportant? Who cares if someone remembers you? I hardly know anything about any of them, you don’t get to choose if you’re remembered” </p><p> </p><p>Annette began pointing out various portraits. “He defeated a demonic beast solo, saving the king. He brokered a deal with the Alliance so brilliant that we have him to thank for half of the fruit that still grows here. He built this very building, and oversaw half of the city construction that still stands,” She could list off an important detail about nearly every single painting in the hallway if she put her mind to it.<br/>
<br/>
Felix stared at her confused. “I don’t get it. Everyone gets to do one or two things they’re remembered for, especially in a house like Fraldarius. As long as you don’t mess up too badly, you’ll probably trip over something some historian will deem important.”<br/>
<br/>
“But what about their wives?” Annette asked, tears of frustration pooling in the corners of her eyes.<br/>
<br/>
“What?” Felix asked, floored.<br/>
<br/>
“She was a good baker. She had a great head for sums. She was very fashionable.” Annette pointed to each painting, each footnote.<br/>
<br/>
“Okay?” Felix asked, not getting her point.<br/>
<br/>
“None of them ever, <em> ever </em> did anything important? In the hundreds of years of the kingdom? The only notable Fraldarius woman was the original, and it’s just a thousand years of remarkable men after that?” Annette was crying again. Oh no. Felix tried to grab for her but she shook him off.<br/>
<br/>
“Felix I need the Titanus project. I need time to work on it, more than an hour every day. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you”<br/>
<br/>
Felix looked overwhelmed and confused, as if he didn’t know where to go or what to say. He reached for her, but hesitated, placing his hand on his lap. “Okay.”<br/>
<br/>
Annette sprung towards him, “Really? No more stealing my books?” She went to wrap her arms around him.</p><p> </p><p>Felix paused, hands on her shoulders. Looking so seriously at her.<br/>
<br/>
“You have to promise me you’ll sleep. You end up sitting in a lot of pointless meetings that you don’t need to attend. If you skipped three or four of them a week you’d have time to work on it, correct?”<br/>
<br/>
“But I don’t want to miss them! They’re fundamental to running the territory, and I need to know what’s happening.” Annette protested, backing away. <br/>
<br/>
Felix sighed, running his hands through his hair.<br/>
<br/>
“Can we find something you handle and switch it out for time you spend researching?”<br/>
<br/>
“You’re not in charge of me!” Annette huffed, stupid Felix who didn’t even like being in charge ordering her around again.</p><p><br/>
“I’m not saying I am.  Annette, if this project is a priority look through your schedule, pick some things and delegate them. Make time.” Felix explained calmly. Her logical, level headed husband. Not totally understanding her, not getting <em> why </em> something was important. But trying to support her.<br/>
<br/>
Annette walked back to the bench, considering her various responsibilities. “Okay. I’m sure there’s something I can give up… No… not that… um... This isn’t my strength you know.”<br/>
<br/>
“You don’t say” Felix muttered sarcastically. </p><p><br/>
“Ugh you’re the worst Felix” she said affectionately, laying her head on his shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
The afternoon sun rolled in through the skylight as the Duke and Duchess Fraldarius worked side by side on a bench that was far too small for the scope of their work.<br/>
<br/>
Decades later, their children insisted their portrait was hung right above it. They had spent their whole lives knowing to look for their mother at that bench, it felt right to return her to it.<br/>
<br/>
Historians would eventually misinterpret the significance of the placement, positing that it was a mirror of the first major crest holder and the last. But they never understated the significance of the people pictured.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I just think our queen of hard work wouldn't decide to spend the rest of her life just supporting her husband. </p><p>Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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